Final pre-season testing begins with Mark Webber on top - Red Bull lead the way as a damp first day in Barcelona finally dries out
Published by Christine
The first day of the final test in Barcelona was of mixed conditions with rain dampening the start of the day. Gradually, the track dried out, allowing some running on the dry tyres for the final couple of hours. Mark Webber managed to pip the others to the fastest time at the end of the day, almost two seconds up on Lewis Hamilton in second.
There were a couple of red flags, one brought out by Romain Grosjean who spun his Lotus into the gravel and abandoned it there. The Lotus later developed a hydraulic leak as well, so Grosjean was the slowest driver - off the top time by over 12 seconds. Sauber’s Esteban Gutiérrez also flew off track and into the barrier, causing a red flag. The team managed to patch up the damage and get him going again.
Controversy was sparked at the Marussia garage, as Luiz Razia was scheduled to drive but Max Chilton represented the team in the car instead. There’s no official word on what’s happening there, but its reported as contractual issues.
